Improvement in sewing-machine casters



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE W. EDDY, CF NEWT BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT lN SEWING-MACHINE CASTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 147,377, dated February 10, 1874; application filul December 26, 1873.

CAsE B.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. EDDY, of New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Casters for Sewing-Machines and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the aecompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to sewing-machine cas ters and consists in the novel construction and arrangement of the caster with elongated spindle, hollow socket, swiveled loop, and a peculiarly-constructed lever; also, in levers having bearings on the lowerv side of the treadle-shaft, combined with the casters, arms, and rocking bar 5 also, in the rocking bar, provided with casters, foot-levers, and arms; and, lastly, in the stand and treadleshaft, combined with the four casters working in hollow tubes secured to the front legs, and like tubes or sockets attached directly to the rock-shaft, and with a footlever, arms, and the peculiarly-constructed levers, as hereinafter more fully described.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, in which- Figure lis a transverse vertical section of a sewingmachine stand embodying` my invention, showing. the machine thrown off of the casters; and Fig. 2 is a similar section of the same, showing the machine thrown ou J[he casters. v

A A represent the side pieces of a sewingmachine stand; a, the treadleshaft; B, the treadle; C, the pitman, and D the fly-wheel of the same, all constructed and arranged in any of the known and usual ways. To the inner side of each side piece A, near the front leg, is secured a vertical hollow tube or socket, I), through which passes the stem or spindle d of the caster E. This stem or spindle is elongated-that is, is a suitable distance longer than the tube I), and is at its upper end provided with a swiveled loop, e, for the passage of the end of a lever, G. `In suitable bearings formed on or attached to the side pieces A A, near the rear legs, is placed a rocking shaft or bar, II, near each end of which is attached a caster, E', constructed in the same manner as described for the front casters E, with the exception that the spindle of the rear caster is made of about the same length as its tube or socket, and has no swiveled loop at its upper end. Io the rocking bar I-I is attached a curved footlever, I, and also near each end a curved arm, f. rlhe foot-lever I extends forward, so as to bein easy reach, and the arms f f extend toward the rear and upward, and theirextreme ends bent outward to form rests or support-s for the rear ends of the levers G G, the front ends of which are passed through the loops e c on the front casters E E, as above described. The levers G G are curved substantially in the form shown in the drawing, passing underneath the treadle-shaft a. Each lever Cr is, on its upper side, provided with suitable projections, which form a bearing, a', against the under side of t-he treadle-shaft. By pressing down upon the foot-lever I, the rocking shaft or bar II is turned in its bear ings, so as to bring the tubes and spindles of the rear casters E' in a vertical position, raising the rear side of the stand up till it rests upon said casters. At the same time the arms f f press the rear ends of the levers G G upward, and these levers, turning upon the 'shaft a, in the bearings :c a: as a fulcrum, by their front ends, force the front casters E perpendicularly downward as far as the elongated spindles or stems l will permit, until the front part of the machine is also raised up and rests upon the casters E. rIhe foot-lever I is then fastened by means of a catch, 71, on the treadleshaft. By releasing the foot-lever from this catch, the machine is in precisely the reverse manner lowered down on the floor, or thrown off from the casters, the front casters sliding upward, and the rear casters turning forward out of the way. By this system of levers the change is easily and quickly accomplished, without any trouble or loss of time.

I am aware that the arrangement is not new of attaching two casters to the front legs of a sewing-machine table by means of pivoted l arms through the medium of clamps, while the other two casters are pivoted to the rear legs by the like arms through the medium of the rock-shaft, and I do not, therefore, in the present application, broadly claim such arrangement; but

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the caster E, with elongated spindle cl, the vertical hollow tube or socket b, swiveled loop c, and lever G, all

substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The levers G G, having bearings x against the under side of the treadle-shaft a, in combination with the casters E E and the arms ff on the rocking bar H, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

3. rIhe rocking bar or shaft H, provided with casters E', foot-lever I, and arms ff, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

4. rEhe combination, with the stand A and treadle-shaft c, of the casters E E, working in hollow tubes or sockets secured to the front legs, and the casters E E', working in the like tubes or sockets attached directly upon the rockshaft, the rocking shaft H, foot-lever I, arms ff, and levers G G, with bearings a: a', all constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein set .-forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE vW. EDDY. Witnesses:

JAMEs W. HANNA, J ULIUs H. REAsn. 

